What it led to
by Cyanide 6
Summary: A somewhat harmless party leads to several unforeseen consequences. Keyword: unforeseen. Not your typical party story, the events will lead to more trouble and danger than anyone could expect.
1. Chapter 1

It was just a typical night in Death City, but it was a night when a few innocuous decisions would lead to unforeseeable events.

Liz glanced up from the book she was reading as a knock pounded relentlessly on the door of Gallows Manor.

"That sounds like Black Star," she commented.

"I'll get it!" Patty called, opening the doors.

Black Star and Soul rushed in.

"Hey guys, I don't know about you, but tonight is not the night to sit around reading!" Black Star called, eyeing Liz's book distastefully.

"Yeah," Soul added, "you guys should come out with us. The girls are gonna meet us at this cool new club. They're celebrating their grand opening, and students at the academy get in free."

Liz raised an eyebrow. "A party, huh?" she mused, half to herself. "That could be fun."

"Oh, can we go can we go can we go, PPPLLLEEEAAAASSSSSEEE!" Patty begged, hopping up and down, eyes pleading.

"Hmm. Well, it's been quite a while since I've been to one." Liz shrugged. "Why not?" She stood up to make her way to the door.

"Sorry, girls, but I don't think you should go," came a cool voice further in the manor.

The two girls turned to see Kid standing there. "It's far too dangerous."

Patty laughed out loud, and Liz cracked a smile. "Really Kid? We know how to face danger. It's just a dumb party."

He shook his head solemnly. "I can't allow you to go alone."

"We won't be alone," Liz said. "Soul and Black Star will be with us."

Kid raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by this.

"And so will Maka and Tsubaki. We'll be perfectly safe."

Kid shook his head again. "Are you aware of just how many parties end badly, especially for girls? I think you underestimate the danger."

"Come on, Kid. Have you ever even been to a party before?" Liz asked

Kid froze, avoiding her eyes. "Th-th-that's not the point! Parties are a dangerous extravaganza! What if you girls fall in with the wrong people! What if you become alcoholics?"

Patty laughed. "Oh Kid! If you're so worried, why don't you come with us?"

Kid frowned, and mumbled something about not wanting to leave.

Liz sighed. "Your choice Kid. You come with us and make sure we stay safe, or we go without you."

Kid bit his lip, eyes flicking from Soul to Black Star to Patty to Liz. Then he sighed, and stood up, unnecessarily straightening his jacket.

"Alright then," he said coolly. "I'll come."

"Yahoo!" Black Star crowed, pumping a fist. "The party may not start until Black Star's arrived, but the more of us there the better."

Soul grinned. "Cool. Then let's go."

The five headed out to the party.

Kid rarely went to parties, the few he had gone to being highly regulated. The reason for this was simple. His father hadn't wanted him to go to more general parties, and had advised him gravely against doing so.

Kid shook these thoughts from his head, as the group arrived at the club.

"Hey Kid, Liz, Patty!" Maka called over the music. "Glad you guys could make it!"

Kid smiled in return as his two weapons charged the dance floor.

"Ha ha! Look at me! I'm the dancing queen!" Patty giggled, jumping to the music.

Tsubaki had already summoned up a posse of boys, trying to win her over. Used to this kind of attention, Tsubaki just laughed quietly at their attempts.

Black Star wasn't paying much attention to his weapon. He and Soul, helping themselves to drinks, were examining what looked like paint cans.

"Completely permanent," their owner was bragging. "Made by witches, you know. Once it dries? Forget it. Not even Death himself could remove it!"

Black Star and Soul's eyes were wide, obviously picturing all the things they could do with this.

Kid drifted closer, fingering the white stripes in his hair.

"Does it come in black?"

The boy jumped. "D-Death the Kid! Oh, um, no actually. The makers, they're not really witches by the way, they can only do primary colors. A-and I was, you know, just kidding when I said that thing about Lord Death." He obviously didn't want to tick off Death or his son.

Kid sighed. "Are you certain?"

The boy shrugged. "You might be able to mix it to black."

Black Star and Soul eyed the cans wistfully.

Kid sighed. "How much are you asking for it?" he asked, resignedly.

On the floor, Liz and Maka were dancing to the thunderous beat.

"Hey babe," a guy said, sidling up to Liz. "Dance with me?"

Patty giggled by the drink bar.

"What's a pretty girl like yourself doing all alone?" a student asked, thrusting a drink into her hands.

Patty giggled again, accepting the drink, and striking up a conversation.

Kid watched as Black Star and Soul wandered off, their black market witchcraft 'paint' in hand, and watched as they stashed in an empty part of the club.

On close inspection, Kid had realized the true nature of the paint. He wondered to himself how the student had gotten his hands on the witch potion known as 'permanent paint' to most non-witches. While still wet, the potion would slip right off. But as soon as it dried, well, like the seller had said, not even Kid's father could have removed it.

Sighing, he turned to watch Maka dance on the dance floor with a guy from the school.

He frowned, noting Patty on the side, swaying hypnotically to the music, clearly intoxicated, while the guy sitting next to her bought her yet another drink.

"Hey, Kid," Liz said, swaying up to him. Her speech was someone slurred.

"Have you been drinking too, Liz?" Kid asked, with some distaste.

"Come on," she said, "join in! You need to lighten up for once! Come on, I'll buy you a drink!"

Kid tried to pry the arm she had slung around him off, but before he knew it, she had thrust a drink in his hands.

"Just one, to lighten up a little. You don't have to take another one, if you don't wanna."

Kid's eyed the drink, disgust evident. Upon first sip he thought ugh, people drink this intentionally? It was hard to imagine getting addicted to this stuff.

Still, as he glanced around at his friends, having fun, he wondered how harmful one could be. Kid never lightened up and had fun. Maybe this would be a change…

Soul had joined the group on the dance floor, after Black Star and Kid had stored their prize away for later.

As the partygoers danced, he was able to distinguish a sharp, distinctly feline, yelp.

He glanced down, and was able to make out a cat in the haze that had built up in his vision.

"Hey Blair. Whaz you doin down there?" He said.

The cat transformed into the young women, in her usual scantily clad garment.

Pressed up against Soul by the crowd, she smirked. "Only students get in free, but I figured, who'd notice a little kitty, meow?"

Soul grinned stupidly, squished so close to Blair, but it wasn't long before she was distracted by the promise of snagging a free drink when no one was looking.

"Catch ya later, Soul!" She purred, heading off.

Liz and Kid headed toward the dance floor, drinks finished. Liz had been able to convince Kid to take _just_ one more, and the two started to dance together.

Kid behaved differently from Liz. While the latter more slumped into a bit of a daze, Kid became incredibly, and uncharacteristically, hyper.

Maka drifted over, with more drinks, pressing them into her friends hands. The three began to laugh and chat about the party.

A little while off, Patty had accepted one more paid for drink from the guy she was talking to, before treating him to a slap for a tactless comment, and accepting a dance offer from a different student.

Meanwhile, Tsubaki, tired of maneuvering with her long skirt, tore the troublesome thing off, so that it was a mere foot long. She was in a heated make out session with one of the random guys she was with, when she was interrupted belligerently by Black Star, who threatened the other student to beat him within an inch of his life if he caught him around Tsubaki again, before dragging his weapon away to get something to drink.

The party was really heating up, as two guys got in a fight over something.

Soul glanced over and saw it was the same student trying to pawn witchcraft items off to others. Apparently, one guy didn't agree with the price he was offered. Soul watched with mild interest, though it was hard to distinguish the fight when the room seemed to be tilting. Then the fight turned ugly, as the selling student's friend transformed into a large mace, and the guy who was buying called his girlfriend over, who turned into a saber.

One of the people working at the club was able to break up the fight before anyone got seriously hurt, and Soul turned his attention to the dance floor.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to make sense of what he saw. That couldn't be Maka and Kid, wrapped in an embrace on the dance floor. But no matter of eye rubbing could make the image fade.

Something in the depth of Kid's mind wondered what he was doing, but that part was being suffocated by alcohol. He had gone through his completely hyper faze, and was now in a bleary haze, which obscured any and all reason.

Maka was wrapped up with some guy. Blinking she noticed stripes, and guessed it was Kid. It didn't matter, really. Most of the kid's at the party were too drunk to recognize anyone, and Maka was amongst them.

"Yo, Kid!"

Kid felt himself torn away from Maka. He turned to see Soul glaring in his face.

"Whater you doin wiz Maka!" Soul yelled.

Kid blinked, before striking Soul hard across the face.

Soul fell to the ground, before jumping up. "Now you're asking for it!" Soul roared, arm transforming into a scythe.

The two boys turned to face each other, while others gathered around to watch the fight.

In the back, the manager arrived. He had been out shortly, leaving one of his employees in charge.

"How're things going?" The manager asked.

The employee looked someone nervous. "Another fight's broken out, but I can't get to the two aggressors."

The manager frowned. "Another? Why would the kids' be fighting?"

One glance into the main room of the club explained it. Just one sniff of the alcohol reeking room.

He smacked his employee up the side of the head. "You idiot! This party is for the students at the academy! Why the hell are you selling hard alcohol?"

The other man looked abashed. "I figured it'd get more attention, and sell more."

The manager glowered, and was about to yell at the employee when he saw a flash of magic on the floor where the fight was taking place.

He paled. Death magic. That meant one of two things. Either Death was here, or his son was. Though the former was unlikely, the latter was worse.

What would Lord Death do to the club that sold his son all this? What if he was hurt badly in the fight?

Quickly, he made his way out into the crowd, yelling threats to inform the authorities if the kid's didn't leave now.

These words, once the students were able to decipher them, had a magical effect.

The students fled the scene, not wanting to get in serious trouble.

Within minutes, the club was evacuated.

The manager could only hope that the students would be tight lipped about this, because there was no way any of the parents wanted their children here. Especially Lord Death.

The children ran out and dispersed around the town.

Many didn't want to go home yet, so they took to the streets with what drinks they still had.

Maka wasn't one of them, and headed home, still wondering why they had left so quickly.

Kid, who had once again changed moods, was now feeling sicker than he had ever before, and he stumbled home, passing out in the bushed in front of Gallows Manor.

Tsubaki, Liz, and Patty had stayed with a large group of partying teens, and, as soon as one turned on music from his car, the group started partying again.

Black Star and Soul decided to forget the party, and decided that nothing would be better right now than to vandalize some houses with 'permanent paint'.

So the two brain dead teens head down the street, sloshing paint at the walls, and failing horribly at writing their names on the walls, only managing splotches.

Then they decided that paint outdoors was alright, but defacing the interior of people's houses would be infinitely better.

So they crashed into the first house they saw, only to be chased out by the owners.

They ran for a while, still drinking a few bottles they had taken from the partying group in the streets, trying to lose their pursuer.

Once they were sure, they broke into the next house they encountered.

This one was vacant, and unbelievably large. And also somewhat familiar, but they couldn't quite place why.

Black Star tripped nearly the instant they got in, sloshing paint all over Soul.

"Dammit! Now you're gonna get it!" Soul slurred, throwing a fistful of paint at Black Star, who stumbled, missing the paint, and ran from the room, throwing taunts over his shoulder.

Soul ran after him, and the two boys spent the next half hour throwing paint at each other, getting it, literally, all over the house they had broken into.

But soon, as it always does, the effects of the alcohol began to wear off. And as the supply of paint ran out, the two boys decided to head home.

As they stumbled out the unlocked door of Gallows Manor, it started to rain.

This rain woke up Kid, who blinked blearily a few yards away. He crawled into the entrance hall of his house, through the door which had just been opened.

He didn't notice the paint stains all over his house, instead, he once again passed out in the front hall.

Meanwhile, Patty and Liz had left the party when it started to rain, and the girls trudged up to the academy, and spent the night there, too drunk to find their way home.

Soul stumbled through the streets, until he recognized his house, and abandoned Black Star with the hopes of getting some sleep.

Black Star didn't even notice his friend was gone.

He just kept trudging around, somewhat aroused by the rain, which had washed all traces of paint off the boys and the walls they had thrown paint at.

He passed by a parked car, filled with partiers, who had climbed in to avoid the rain.

Through his stupor, Black Star recognized Tsubaki, and, after dragging her out of the car, the two found their house, and promptly passed out.

As all members of their little group slept, the rain, thunder, and lightning poured outside.

It was ironic how this storm was truly the calm before an even greater storm.

A storm which would turns friends against each other, one which would lead to imprisonments, attacks, betrayal, punishments, and leave Death City in flames.

**AN: Hey! So this is my first Soul Eater fanfic, and I have a few notes to make. Basically, it's gonna be slightly AU. I haven't finished watching the show, so I don't know much about the continuity. Example: In my story, A is evil, and B is alive, even though in the show, A didn't turn evil until after B died. If that makes any sense. If I'm just totally off base on any assumption, PM or review it to me.**

**Thanks! Please review, and enjoy the story!**

**PS: due to the fact that I am busy often and am working on ten other stories, don't hold your breath waiting for updates, but don't count them off altogether.**


	2. Chapter 2

Kid groaned slightly as he regained consciousness.

What had happened? Last night shouldn't have happened. Wasn't being a Death God supposed to make him immune to poisons? And wasn't alcohol a poison?

Of course, his father had told him that, being young and his Shinigami powers being undeveloped, certain things had different effects on him.

Right now all Kid had was a blinding headache. He had next to no memories of the previous night.

He remembered getting to the party, watching the girls dance, buying Black Star and Soul their witchcraft, and helping Black Star hide it so it wouldn't be found until they left.

Then… things got fuzzy. He remembered Liz had been clearly intoxicated, and he remembered she convinced him to get a drink…

After that, his mind drew a blank.

He frowned sitting up, eyes still closed, trying to remember where he even was. Was this a normal side effect to excessive alcohol consumption?

Possibly, depending on how much he had drunken. Of course, he didn't know how much he _had, _so he wasn't sure how much, so he couldn't determine how normal his total lack of memory was.

The few parties he had gone to were nothing like the one last night.

Finally, he opened his eyes a crack, and was instantly blinded by the sunlight pouring in.

Clapping a hand over them, he gave a small cry. Did the sun really have to choose today to shine so brightly?

Judging by the deep laughter it gave, yes, it did.

Kid blinked a few times, fighting the headache and sun.

As soon as he could see, though, his headache and the blinding light of the sun became the last thing on his mind.

"Wh-wha-what's happened?" he whispered, eyes wide. These must be hallucinations, they had to be!

He stared at the garish slashes, the splats, the spots, all over the entrance hall in his house.

He rubbed his eyes, but he ruled out the first possibility when, moving his head, they stayed where they were. Hallucinations would have moved with his eyes, when he turned his head.

Shakily he got to his feet, staring at the room. He made his way to the wall, tracing a line with his finger.

"Wh-what have I done?"

.

Black Star leapt to his feet the next morning, feeling wide eyed and refreshed.

"YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He roared, leaping from his bed.

"Ha! Not even alcohol can mask the effects of the GREAT BLACK STAR!" He yelled, running through the apartment, into Tsubaki's room.

"Please," came a faint whisper from her bed. "P-please be quiet, I have s-such a headache."

"WAHOOOO-" Black Star's war cry was cut short by his own hand slapping over his mouth. "Sorry," he whispered between his fingers.

He tiptoed out of the room, and, quickly brought a glass of water and a cold cloth for his hung over weapon.

"Here you go," he whispered, hand still clamped over his mouth out of the knowledge that it would spout out loudly were it given the option.

After that he tiptoed out of the room and left the house.

Once outside he vented loudly as he tore down the street.

"Oof."

Black Star blinked, staring down at the disgruntled scythe he had just bowled into.

"Oh, hey Soul. What're you doing down there?"

Soul glared up from the ground. "An idiot assassin bowled me over." He climbed to his feet.

"I see you're not hung over," Soul commented.

"NOPE! APPARENTLY STARS LIKE ME DON'T **GET** HUNG OVER!"

Soul snorted. "This is news. What's your excuse the last eight times you were hung over. Besides, I'm not hung over either, but Maka is."

Black Star pondered this. "So is Tsubaki."

Soul shrugged. "I think it was the paint. When it washed away with the rain, I mean."

The two boys pondered this.

"Speaking of paint," Black Star said slowly. "I'm remembering things better now. That wasn't Kid's place we trashed, was it?"

There was another pause. "Uh, sure hope not. But, yeah, I think it was…"

The two stared at each other for a moment.

"Ah well!" Black Star said, throwing his arms in the air. "Kid was beyond drunk last night, he'll never know it was us! And what he doesn't know can't hurt him! Or us!"

Soul gave a snort of laughter. "Heh, good plan, stick to it. The last thing I need is my head posted on the front gates to his house as a warning to future symmetry disrupters."

Black Star nodded, smiling, and the boys shook on it.

.

"Ugh." Liz rolled over, her head pounding. "Oh God, how did I end up at the academy? Patti? Kid?"

She blinked before shutting her eyes again.

"Liz!" A chipper voice piped up. Patti sat bolt upright eyes wide open, before her hung over caught up with her, and she collapsed to the ground.

"Uh, sis," Patti whimpered. "I don't think I'm ever gonna sit up again, 's that cool with you?"

"Yeah," Liz groaned, drifting back to sleep. "That's cool."

.

Kid stared at the walls in his bedroom, ruined.

He had spent the whole morning assessing the damage to his house.

Not a single room was untouched by at least a small spot of paint.

He closed his eyes, his headache so bad it made him feel ready to faint. The instant they were closed, however, visions of the asymmetrical paint caused them to snap open.

Kid sat in his room, heart pounding, but the paint on walls only worsened things.

Again, he closed his eyes, but the tormenting swirls tainted his vision.

_Keep them closed,_ he chided himself, _it's just a little paint. A l-little p-paint. Th-that's all._

They would fade from his vision, they would. And then, when he opened his eyes, things wouldn't be so bad. He could fix it, clean it, and make it better.

_Just fade! _He begged the swimming visions. _Just g-g-go aw-w-way._

He couldn't stand them anymore. They tortured him. The disorder, so blatantly off…

His eyes opened, sweat dampening his brow, heart pounding, breathing heavily.

Things were _worse _now. They were far worse in reality than behind his eyelids.

He stood, shakily.

His head thundered, and the paint swarmed his vision, everywhere in his room.

_God, get a grip on yourself, _he thought. _Just leave. You can come back later._

Trembling, he fled the house, and collapsed in the front lawn, panting.

_God, it's just paint, get a hold on yourself._

His head continued to pound.

Maybe this was just a bad dream. It had to be.

_That must be it._

Groaning, he lay back down, exhausted.

He was never going to go to another party again.

.

Soul and Black Star wandered aimlessly.

"Hey!" Black Star announced, angrily. "Our names are gone!" He pointed at a wall outside the first house the boys had broken in the night before.

"Huh. Looks like the rain washed it away, probably a good thing. Our names would have made our little vandalizing trip easily traced back to us."

Black Star was still disgruntled about his name being washed from the walls, though Soul did have a point.

Soul sighed. "I'm gonna head home. I promised Maka last night that if she got hung over I would help her out." He shrugged. "You gonna help Tsubaki?"

Black Star sighed. "Sure. It's lunch time anyways, and even stars need to eat."

The two spent the rest of the day watching after their respective meisters and weapons.

Black Star was grumbly about 'playing nurse', but Tsubaki had 'played nurse' for him so often, and he was worried about losing her service in the future.

That night, the hung over students were feeling a lot better.

Maka and Tsubaki were on their feet, and were busy hoping no one was in deep trouble about their reckless party the previous night.

"What if we get expelled? I can't see Lord Death being pleased about last night, even if Kid **hadn't **been there," Maka wailed.

"We _are_ going to get into trouble, Black Star," Tsubaki worried. "And yes, Lord Death may even expel a star like you!"

.

Liz groaned, sitting up.

"Gah," she moaned, though she was feeling better. The sun was going down, and her headache had subsided. Of course, she hadn't had a thing to drink, and was dehydrated.

"Come on, Patti," she said, shaking her sister. "Time to go home, we have school tomorrow."

The younger Thompson sister sat up, blinking blearily. "Blah." She shook her head, yawning. "'Kay sis."

The two headed home, stopping at the front, when they saw their young meister sleeping out front.

"Hey, Kid," Liz said, shaking the grim reaper's shoulder. "You should get up."

His eyes snapped open. She hadn't noticed, but his face was white, even more so than usual. "L-Liz," he stammered.

"We're here, Kid."

"Wow, you don't look so good, Kid!" Patti chirped. "You should head inside, and get some rest where it's comfortable."

"Yeah," Liz said, stretching with a yawn. "I, for one will be glad to see my bed again. I'm tired of feeling gross, sleeping on the ground. Plus, I need to change into something that _isn't _stained!" she exasperated while tugging on her shirt, which had something spilled down the front.

Kid's face went even paler, as he thought of their closet, flung open, clothes everywhere, all over their room, not a thing without paint on it.

"N-NO!" He called, grabbing them by the arms. "Y-you can't go in."

"Why not, Kid?" Patti asked.

"Yeah, Kid. Come on, we're tired."

The Death God looked freaked. _What will they do when they see their rooms?_

"Let go!" Liz said extremely annoyed and wrenching her arm from his grasp.

Before he could grab her again, Patti squirmed out of his grasp, and the two bolted for the door.

Kid watched them go, a look of panic on his face, before running to catch up.

"Girls, I can-"

He stopped at the expressions on their face.

Patti looked at the entrance hall, a confused look on her face.

Liz looked angry.

She turned on him. "You'd better not have wrecked our room." she threatened.

Kid's helpless look spoke volumes, and the two ran to their room.

Kid just watched in horror.

Kid stared in the entry hall, when he heard a shriek.

"DAMN YOU, KID!" Liz's voice rang out. "DAMN YOU, REAPER BRAT!"

Patti entered a few seconds later. "Liz is really mad at you," she said, in an icy tone he was unused to. "Why would you do that?"

Kid stuttered, "I-I didn't mean to." It sounded lame, even to him; there was no excuse for such blatant destruction of symmetry, none at all.

Patti frowned at Kid, disappointed in her meister's loss of self-control. "Just go, Kid. We'll fix our room."

Kid stared at her for a minute, before realizing he had been dismissed from his own house.

Patti watched as he slowly made his way from the house.

She sighed, heading back upstairs to her room.

Liz was standing in the doorway, glaring. "Reaper brat…" she muttered, before setting off to clean up her room, the best she could.

"Well," said Patti. "This pile is dirty, so it has to be thrown out." She gestured at a pile containing most of the girls' clothes. "These ones," here she pointed to a pile containing a few tops, two pairs of pants, and some socks, "are squeaky clean!"

Liz groaned. "Damn, I'm gonna kill that idiot," she grumbled. "I've got to throw out all my clothes!" She combed through the pile again looking for something, anything, which was salvageable. "Why did the idiot buy this horrible permanent paint?"

Patti was busy making faces at her favorite giraffe shirt. "Blechy blechy giraffe with blue on his blechy blech face," she grumbled. "What was that, Liz?"

Liz groaned. "Never mind, I'm gonna put all this in a bag and throw it out. Kid had better buy us new clothes if he ever wants us to transform in _his _vandalizing hands again. In the meantime," Liz started hoisting the bag full of clothes over her shoulder, "you see what you can do with the paint on the walls."

"Okey doke, sis!" Patti said, saluting, before turning to the walls, a ferocious look on her face.

By the time Liz came back, Patti was sitting on the floor, looking defeated. "That stuff's not coming off. So I hung all my drawings over the gross mess!" You could see every animal imaginable only beginning to hide the paint.

Liz looked at the animal picture covered room. The bed sheets had been stripped and tossed, and the girls had to go find new ones; hiding at the bottom of a drawer.

"Well," Liz said, stretching. "I know I've been sleeping all day, but all this work has made me exhausted. I need some shut eye."

Patti mimicked her sister's stretch, yawning. "Me too! Good night Sis!"

The two climbed into bed, and were soon out like a light.

Elsewhere in Death City, people were also turning in for the night.

Maka and Soul had hit the sac, Blaire curled up at Maka's feet.

Black Star was sleeping, mumbling something about surpassing the Gods.

Tsubaki slept peacefully, despite her worries about the repercussions of their recklessness.

All slept except Kid.

The young reaper spent the night alone, on the outskirts of town staring out at the desert.

But the longer he stared, the more familiar the patterns in the sand became.

It wasn't long before they transformed into the same swirls and meaningless designs that were displayed all across his house.

_They're your fault, you worthless piece of trash._

They were entirely his fault.

And they came to him, no matter where he looked.

All night long.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning the students, feeling much better after their ungodly hangovers, headed to the DWMA.

However when Patti and Liz got there, they noticed Kid wasn't at the DWMA. This wasn't cause for alarm, as the Death God rarely showed up before eight, but the girls wanted to ask him if he was planning on buying them new stuff or if they were gonna have to force it out of him.

Maka and Tsubaki held their breaths through the entire first period, terrified that that they, rule abiding students most of the time, would be in trouble for their night out.

Indeed, most of the class, excepting more brash and careless students, such as Black Star, seemed to be worried that there would be repercussions from Saturday night, especially seeing that there may have been a matter of vandalism after the students had left the club. It certainly was quite a matter of public disturbance.

But, after the first class and not a word about the party, many seemed to relax.

Back at Gallows manor a solitary figure worked exhaustlessly, attempting to eradicate the paint stains.

_I **will **get them off. I will._

He would close his eyes until the swirls that swam in his vision tormented him too much. Then he'd open them, and be faced with the paint's torture. It was a vicious cycle.

_And it'll never end._

He tried to shake the thought from his head, but it stuck, the bleak future haunting him almost as much as the asymmetrical swirls.

The others thought that symmetry was to be laughed at. They thought his reaction to asymmetry funny. They thought moving his paintings, messing up his rooms, ruining the perfection of his home, was amusing.

They didn't understand. Asymmetry tormented him. He wouldn't react the way he did if it was just a small thing. It drove him mad, it made him act irrationally.

It was what he saw in everything, how he used to judge everything. How symmetrical it was.

When things were asymmetrical, things were bad. They were falling apart, changing, morphing. They were exploding, shifting, erratic.

When things were symmetrical, things were good. They made sense, were predictable, were ordered. When you closed your eyes, you could remember them. When you opened them they were exactly as you pictured them.

Symmetry was perfection. Asymmetry was an abomination. And he hated it.

Above all, he hated himself for not being symmetrical, for his stripes.

If it weren't for Gallows Manor, his haven, he would be out of his mind.

The perfect symmetry of his house gave him relief from the relentless horridness of the world. When he couldn't stand things being out of place, when the world seemed to be on the verge of collapse, when the asymmetry of the world was ready to destroy him, he found solace here.

This place restored him, made him able to exist in the rest of the world.

When asymmetry got too much, he closed his eyes and remembered here.

He could breathe here. Here was where he could escape.

His haven.

Now…

Now he couldn't escape here. Now he couldn't even breathe here. The one place that he could escape to was now one of the worst offenders.

These thoughts flashed through his mind. They swirled into the shapes of the paint, taunting him.

"Kid?"

The voice snapped him out of his trance.

It was three in the afternoon. Hours had passed.

Kid slumped to the floor, breathing heavily. He glanced up at Crona, who stood in his house.

"Um, Liz and Patti wanted to know if you're going to replace the clothes you destroyed." Crona looked uncomfortable.

Kid felt his heart sink slightly. An irrational part of his mind had been hoping that they'd be worried as to where he was all day…

"Y-yes," he said. "Of course. Anything they want, and as much as they want."

Crona nodded, frowning. "Okay. Hey, um, Maka wanted to know if you were still a hung over. But I don't even know what a hung over is, so I don't know if you are one."

Kid smiled. "Tell her I'm not. I'm just cleaning."

Crona nodded, rubbing his arm. "Alright. I think it's a good thing I didn't go to the party. I don't think I could've dealt with being a hung over." He nodded, thoughtfully. "Maybe I should listen to Ragnarok more often." Crona shuddered, glancing at the house. "I don't think I would have a hard time dealing with the spots. Well, maybe **my** room would look like this if I went to parties. I guess it's a good thing I didn't-"

"Crona, who are you talking to?" Kid asked, exasperated.

Crona shrugged, glancing down. "I guess I'll go, then. The others are playing basketball. They don't need even teams, 'cause you're not playing with them, so I think maybe I'll see if I can play." He turned and began walking off. "Not sure if I can deal with competitive sports."

Kid stared as Crona walked out the front door.

The front door.

Kid had spent the better part of the day scrubbing at a single spot on the wall. It hadn't faded a bit…

He sighed, rubbing his head, before turning back to the wall, scrubbing.

_Worthless piece of scum. How could you have let this happen…_

_._

Liz and Patti high fived after launching the winning shot over Crona's head,

Crona looking dizzy. "I really can't deal with competitive sports," he mumbled. "I should take up golfing."

Maka high fived the Thompson sisters while Soul and Black Star looked put out. "Man," Soul grumbled. "Even a man up, we can't win."

Black Star frowned. "It's not our fault, Soul!" He announced to the world. "Playing with Crona is like being a man down."

Tsubaki frowned. "Be nice," she scolded, wrapping an arm around Crona. "Don't worry, you'll get better," she said, smiling.

Liz smiled. "Well, Patti and I are going shopping. We're charging everything to Kid's account."

Patti grinned, happily. "I'm gonna buy a **HUNDRED **giraffe shirts!"

Maka rolled her eyes, smiling. "I'm sure he'll find it money well spent."

"Did you see what that idiot did to our clothes?" Liz growled, irritated.

Maka shrugged. "Hey, he's paying for it. Let bygones be bygones."

Liz shrugged. "I guess. There's still the paint, but I can live with a little paint."

"Come on sis!" Patti chirped, dragging on Liz's arm.

.

The next day at school, the group gathered after their first class.

"Hey, where's Kid?" Maka asked. "He's usually here by 8, and he shouldn't be feeling sick after the party, it's been days!"

Liz rolled her eyes, smirking. "He was up all night, scrubbing at a spot on the wall. But by the time morning had come, he had resorted to trying to paint over the splotches."

Maka raised an eyebrow. "Did it work?"

"Naaaw," Patti said. "The new paint burns off."

Crona bit his lip, unhappily. "Oh dear, Kid's not gonna be happy about this."

Ragnorak popped out. "Why do you care? The less that piece of reaper trash is around, the better!"

Soul frowned. "What do you have against Kid?"

"Nothing I don't have against the rest of you!"

Tsubaki laughed. "I think Ragnarok is just being grouchy."

The black blood weapon was about to respond, when Black Star planted his hand over his face. "Ah, shut it. A star like ME doesn't have to listen to this!" He yelled.

Ragnarok struggled for a bit, before sinking away.

"Gee, thanks Black Star," Crona mumbled, uncertainly.

That afternoon, Patti and Liz came home to find Kid trying to pull the painted part of the wall down. Apparently the paint had fused itself all the way through the wall, so that the only way to take the paint down was to destroy the wall.

Patti colored in her coloring book as Kid was busy trying to get rid of paint stains.

"Oh, Kid. I don't think Lord Death would be happy if you tore down the house he built you."

Kid froze. He was about to rip the whole wall down, but Patti was right. His father would not rebuild his house if he destroyed this one.

Kid debated whether or not he should demolish the hell-cursed building.

Would no house be better than this hell?

Where would he stay without Gallows manner?

Where would Patti and Liz…

That clinched it. He couldn't tear down the girls' house.

He sighed, stepping away from the wall. The wall he had spent two days, without rest, scrubbing, yanking, painting…

Sighing, he began scrubbing again, a desperate look on his face, as he opened and shut his eyes, his hands working automatically, trying to rid the paint from the walls and from his mind…

.

"Hey, Maka," Liz said, as class ended. "I'm a little worried about Kid."

"I haven't seen him around. What's wrong?"

Liz sighed. "That's just it. He's been working nonstop, without eating or sleeping, for over five days now."

Maka frowned. "Working on what?"

Liz blinked, realizing that Maka had no clue how big a deal the paint had become. "Removing the stains from our house, he's done everything. He'll even use death magic to try and get rid of it. He looks terrible, and I'm worried that he's losing it."

"Can Death Gods starve to death, or die of sleep exhaustion, or…"

"No. If they run out of natural energy, like sleep, or food, or even blood, they resort to living off of their souls. But that wouldn't last long, as they'd catch something that _can _kill them."

"Oh." Maka frowned, thinking. "What if they don't? Catch something, I mean."

Liz shook her head. "That isn't possible; Kid explained it to me once. The place they were in would have to be completely sterile. The closest thing to a completely sterile place is Kid's house, but even that has access to the outside world. It's not possible."

Maka nodded, and opened her mouth to speak, before Stein walked over.

"Liz," he said, "Lord Death wants to see you and your sister."

Liz frowned. "Patti's at home," she responded.

He tilted his head, twisting the screw. "Hmm, well in that case, you'll do fine."

Liz followed Stein off.

"Heyo, Liz," came Lord Death's cheerful voice. "Wazzup!"

"Uh, hey Lord Death," came the uncertain reply.

"So, I noticed Kiddo hasn't been coming to school lately." He cocked his head. "I assume being his weapon, you might know where he is?"

Liz let out a breath. "Um, well, you see, he's at home. He got permanent paint all over the house and is busy trying to get rid of it."

"Hmm? Well, okay then! When you go home, can you call me on the mirror? I wanna talk to him."

"Sure." Liz nodded. Maybe Kid's father could talk some sense into him.

That evening, Liz called Lord Death on a small hand mirror.

Kid was painting a wall, fervently, and feverish look in his eyes, which flew open and shut, almost as if he were blinking rapidly. Every time the painted melted off the splotches, he would quicken his pace, more determined, the crazed look in his eyes growing brighter.

Lord Death frowned, watching his son for a minute.

"Uh, hey Kid," Liz said, shaking him. "Your dad's on the mirror…"

Kid whipped around, a look of panic in his eyes. He took the mirror from Liz.

"Y-yes, father," he whispered, frowning.

"Uh, hey there, Kiddo, you don't look so good. Why don't you take a break from this painting! You look like you could take a break!"

"I can't father," Kid said, almost cutting his father off. "I have to get rid of this paint. It's worse if I ignore it."

"Aw, don't be such a workaholic, Kiddo! You'll have plenty of that when you take my place."

"I'm sorry, father, but this needs to be done. Perhaps when I finish…"

"Hmm… Very well then, Kid. Liz, may I speak with you, in private?"

Liz shrugged, moving away from Kid, who had turned back to the wall.

"What is it, Lord Death?"

"Oh, not much really, I was wondering how long he's been like this, where the paint came from, that sorta thing."

Liz bit her lip, before coming out with the story.

"Hmm…" He put his hand to his sides, "Ah well!" He clapped his hands together. "I think I'll pay you guys a visit in person! I want to talk to Kiddo. I'll be there in… oh a few hours. Byeee!"

The mirror went blank showing only Liz's reflection.

_He's coming here?_

"Super," she muttered to herself.

A few hours later the doorbell ringed.

"I'll get it!" Patti called, flinging open the door. "Oh, hi Lord Death!"

"Hey there, Patti," he said, stepping in. "I was wondering if I could talk to Kid."

"Riiiiight!" Patti saluted before escorting Lord Death to where Kid was scraping the wall with a blade.

"Heyo Kiddo!"

Kid dropped the blade and turned around. "F-father?"

Lord Death glanced at Patti. "If you would give us a moment…"

"Oh, right!"

Patti skipped off to her room, where she met Liz, who was filing her nails.

"Is Lord Death here?"

"Yup!" Patti started scribbling in a coloring book. "Look, sis!" She giggled. "I'm makin' our house!"

About ten minutes later, the girls heard shouting from downstairs.

"I'm not leaving! That ISN'T going to happen! I'm going to FIX this, father!" Kid shouted.

The girls exchanged glances, before sneaking down.

The young reaper yelled at his father.

Finally Lord Death raised his hand high, causing Kid to fall silent.

Lord Death's eyes were narrow. "Kid," he said quietly, his hand falling back to his side. "I expect to see you at school, at seven tomorrow. No exceptions." His eyes were narrow.

Kid glanced around the room, the paint seemed to cause the room to spin. "F-fine, father," he whispered, looking down. "I'm sorry. I'll be there."

Lord Death nodded, before sweeping from the room.

The two girls backed upstairs. "I hope this clears up soon," Patti whispered. "I don't like it when Kid's sad. And Lord Death's scary when he's angry."

.

The next day, the students all showed up at the academy, Kid included.

Soul and Black Star exchanged uncertain glances.

"Uh, hey Kid," Soul said. "Good to see you're out of your house."

"Yeah!" Black Star announced. "No friend of MINE is gonna sit around growing mushrooms at home when there are KISHINS to battle!"

Tsubaki smiled. "It's good to see you're feeling better."

Maka frowned. "You _are _feeling better, right Kid?"

The group all stared at Kid, who was staring at the ground.

_Try and remember what things looked like before…_

_**No, that won't work; they don't look that way anymore!**_

_Just try._

_**No, it's worthless. How could this have happened?**_

_Because you were an idiot._

Kid stared at the ground, arguing with himself.

There was an awkward pause.

"W-well maybe we should go to class," Crona blurted out.

The others jumped on this, and Liz dragged Kid off to class.

Kid sat at the long desk, staring ahead.

After school, the group met up outside.

Kid looked up at them, making forced conversation, avoiding eye contact. He looked at each of them, as they would occasionally glance at him, before glancing away quickly.

_They don't understand, _he thought, once again. _They don't know what this means to me. What symmetry means. They don't-_

Kid snapped his head up, the realization hitting him hard.

Maybe they _did _understand. Maybe they didn't care.

He was a fool, and idiot. His obsession with symmetry was an excuse.

The fact was, paint had gotten on his walls, and he was incapacitated because of it.

He was supposed to be a Death God! He was going to take over his father's place!

What would happen when a rising kishin cut something asymmetrically in battle? When it became a full-fledged kishin, because _he _couldn't stop it? When people died, when the world was plunged into darkness?

Would he whine like a child, saying that they 'didn't understand him'? Was he going to justify this mess, because 'he couldn't deal with asymmetry'? Would anyone care at that point, what their Death God's excuses were, when people were dying and turning evil and eating souls?

No one would care, because that wasn't the point! The point is that Kid is going to have to take his father's place, and if he can't deal with asymmetry, then his reign will be terrible.

_And they know it, _he thought, staring at his friends. _They see this. And they're disappointed, and worried, and disgusted. Because they see that you're going to bring misery to all of them, and beyond._

Kid stood up. Their eyes followed him. He could see the thinly veiled disgust in their eyes, the looks of disappointment on their faces.

"I-I have to go," he said.

Maka frowned. "You gonna go work on getting rid of paint?"

He could hear the disappointed and irritation in her voice.

But what could be done? He _**couldn't **_get rid of the images. He couldn't make his mind stop swirling.

He had to, but he couldn't.

He turned and ran to Gallows Manor.

He wanted someone to call out, to tell him to wait. He hoped that someone would help him, that someone would follow.

No one did.

.

In the Death Room, Lord Death sighed, as he watched from his mirror his son run from the school, a panicked look on his face.

Lord Death had hoped that Kid would get better, getting out of the house.

But after watching his son mull about the school, a shadow of himself, and Lord Death was worried, upset.

He hated seeing his usually cool minded and collected son in such a frayed state.

"Death Scythe, you're here," he said, as the red haired Death Scythe ran in. "Normally I prefer to stick to business, but you're the only person that I know well enough who has a child Kid's age. I need to know when Maka's upset, when she's really unhappy about something, what do you usually do?"

Spirit frowned. _This must be about Kid, _he thought. Stein and Maka had both told him how the young Death God had seemed really down and out of it lately.

"Well, Lord Death, with all due respect, when Maka's mad at me, I usually give her, her space. Back off; let her have time to herself. The _last _thing you want to do is crowd her. Even something like asking what's wrong, or if you can help will set her off."

Lord Death frowned, cocking his head. "Is that so?"

He nodded, intelligently. "Give Kid his space, and things will improve. Don't worry; the further you are away from Kid, the better."

Lord Death sighed, watching his son through the mirrors set up in Gallows Manor.

He looked so unhappy, so afraid.

Lord Death was still worried about him.

But he knew things would turn out just fine. It wasn't unusual for young reapers still maturing, to have such obsessions.

Kid didn't know it, but he would outgrow the absolute obsessive part of this OCD in time enough for him to take over for Lord Death.

**Many thanks to my wonderful Beta Reader, Seqka711!**

**Please review, I'd love to hear what you have to say!**


	4. Chapter 4

Kid ran home.

He ran past the paint splotches, past the normally used rooms, in through a hallway rarely used by the inhabitants.

He stopped, frozen.

He hadn't checked here before, but for a brief passage, the walls were free from paint.

These walls…

Kid sat down, facing the wall on the right.

To anyone at all, this wall appeared as just a plain wall, just like any other.

But it had a spell placed on it. Only Kid knew the spell, only he could cast it. Once cast, it created a doorway into a secret, hidden room. One only he knew about.

He rarely went in anymore, as frequent use of the door/portal made it weak, to the point where it had stopped fading entirely after use.

Lack of use in the recent years, however, had caused it to fade completely.

Kid stared at the wall, eyes unblinking.

He knew that in the room, was perfection. He had designed it so that it was magically laced, so that the candles would burn eternally, so that the flames would burn symmetrically, so that the spells would remove any and all impurities from the room, keeping it perfectly symmetrical and clean.

He stared sitting, facing the wall; arguing with himself, before standing up and walking catatonically back to the entry hall; back to the paint.

He was not worth symmetry unless he could restore it.

.

Lord Death watched his son try to 'fix' his house.

He had hoped that getting him out of the house, getting him away from the stains and getting him with his friends would help him.

But for some reason, it made things horribly worse.

Before, Kid acted furiously against the paint.

Now it seemed that Kid hated himself more than the paints, as was evident by the strings of verbal insults he'd hiss under his breath.

Lord Death turned away from the mirror, unable to watch his son torment himself more.

He wanted to reach out to him, to help him, to see if there was any way he could make things better.

But according to Spirit, that was the worst thing he could do.

"And he was right, wasn't he?" Lord Death mused to himself. The single incidence of interference had caused things to be even worse.

Death gripped his hands into fists. No parent wanted to watch their child go through such torments.

Also, Kid's obsessiveness made him completely vulnerable.

Lord Death had watched his weapons walk right by Kid, without his son even noticing.

Someone could walk right in, and Kid wouldn't even notice.

It wasn't a hard inference to make that any enemy of Lord Death's could easily attack his son in this state.

But still, he knew things would get better.

If he just left him alone…

.

Kid stared at the walls.

At their unyielding paint, and tears slid down his face.

Everyone hated him. It was true.

No one came by anymore. Liz and Patti used to try to talk to him, Soul and Black Star used to try to get him away from his task, Maka, Tsubaki and Crona would try and talk to him…

But no one came anymore.

Kid wished his father would come. Just to know that he even cared.

But the stony silence he had received from his father since the day he went to school confirmed his fears that even his _father _didn't care about him. And perhaps this was worse…

He took a deep breath and started on the walls.

His eyes blurred from the tears in them, causing his vision to created swirls that were so horrible he couldn't breathe sometimes.

He hadn't had a good sleep since the party.

He tried once, but woke up with nightmares so horrible that sleep terrified him more than the prospect of facing the mars on his house.

He continued scrubbing the walls.

.

Maka frowned, staring out the window.

Things seemed so different now.

Who would have thought that paint could cause such unraveling?

Behind her, Soul once again started cleaning the room.

Soul had been acting weird lately. He would clean and unclutter and rearrange things all the time. When he had nothing to do, he became incredibly restless, and would pace back and forth.

Also, he had no appetite recently, and seemed jumpy.

"Soul," Maka announced. "We're going to see Kid."

Soul frowned, avoiding eye contact. "Not a good idea. He'll just ignore us." And then like the matter was settled, he went back to cleaning.

But Maka wasn't so easily dissuaded. "No Soul, I mean it. I think we should go see him and get him out of his house, staying there can't be healthy. And when we saw him last he seemed really depressed." Soul was quiet. "Come on! Don't you care? This paint may be partly his fault, but he needs help!"

Soul winced visibly at this. "I _do _care Maka. But don't you think he's overreacting?" He asked, hopefully.

Maka shook her head. "Then stay," she snapped. "But I'm going to see him, whether you come or not."

She stormed out of the house, towards Tsubaki's and Black Star's, to see if they wanted to go.

Soul hesitated for a minute, but then went after her.

Maka knocked on the door when they arrived at their friends' apartment.

Tsubaki answered. "Oh Maka, Soul. Hello." She nodded her head at both of them.

"Hey, Tsubaki," Maka said. "Soul and I are going to go get Kid out of his house; you and Black Star want to come?"

Tsubaki's eyes lit up. "Oh, yes! I think that's a wonderful idea! Black Star!" she called up the staircase.

Black Star slunk down, also avoiding eye contact. "Yeah," he grumbled.

"We're going to visit Kid," Tsubaki said.

Black Star frowned. "He's not still moping around about paint, is he?" Black Star's disdainful tone didn't quite succeed in masking a more panicked undertone.

Tsubaki nodded. "Are you coming?"

Black Star glanced up quickly, before turning his head to the ground.

"Yeah, sure."

The group made their way to Gallow's manor. Patti and Liz were waiting outside.

"Hey," Maka said. "We're going to try and get Kid outside."

Liz sighed listlessly. "You can try," she said.

Patti glanced up at them, her normally bright and carefree eyes containing worry. "Yeah, you can try," she echoed softly.

Maka stared around at the group. This whole thing had changed them so much.

Patti and Liz seemed so subdued, worried about their meister's mental deterioration.

Even Soul and Black Star seemed unexplainably unhappy, but not just worried, like the sisters were.

_That doesn't matter now, _Maka thought, as she threw open the doors and walked in.

"Kid!" She called out.

No response.

She walked in a few yards. Halfway down a hall, she saw Kid, completely absorbed in his work, hissing insults under his breath.

_He didn't even notice we arrived, _Maka thought, concern growing by the second. She gripped him by the shoulder, causing him to tense up.

"M-Maka?" He asked, blinking at her.

_What is she doing here? _Kid thought.

"Kid, we want you to come with us. We're going out. Feel like coming?"

Kid stared, trying to understand her motives.

Then it clicked into place. They may hate him for his lack of control, but the fact is, they _needed _him to get better. His symmetry obsession may make him a terrible reaper, but if they can at least get rid of this current problem…

Yes, because Kid wasn't a friend anymore. He was a problem. A problem that had to be solved. At least partially.

"Alright," he whispered.

He followed Maka silently from the house.

The first thing he noticed when he got out was Patti and Liz. They looked at him cautiously, as if trying to tell whether or not he was going to suffer a mental meltdown.

Then he saw Tsubaki, who wrapped her arms around him. "It's good to see you out of the house," she said, smiling.

Kid felt a little shocked. Maybe they don't hate him completely…

But he was a fool to hope.

Once he saw Black Star and Soul's reactions, it became clear that Tsubaki's was just an act. The two boys showed the true feelings of the group.

They wouldn't even look at him, staring at their feet, not even saying a word.

"Well," said Maka. "Where do you want to go?"

Her question was met by silence.

Soul and Black Star were too busy studying the ground.

Liz and Patti were assessing their meister's condition, worriedly.

Tsubaki was too insecure to voice an opinion.

"Alright then!" Maka said, trying to remain cheerful. "We'll just walk around a bit, see what catches our eye!"

The group headed out.

Maka and Tsubaki held a forced conversation; Black Star and Soul remained quiet.

.

Lord Death cocked his head as the group left Kid's house.

"Well, this is good!" He said, clapping his hands together.

Things were looking up! The fact that he had left the house showed that he was improving! Things would be better soon!

Perhaps Lord Death was being a little too optimistic, but he hardly cared.

He decided to head out, to check on them himself.

.

They were walking near the edge of Death's City, when Lord Death caught up with them.

"Lord Death!" Maka said.

"Heyo, kids!" He greeted them.

Kid's eyes turned to the ground. He wondered what his father was doing here.

"I just wanted to check up on Kid! How's he doing?"

The question was obviously meant for Kid, but he didn't answer.

An awkward silence fell.

Maka fidgeted a little, before answering. "Well, we're just trying to get him out and about. None of us had seen him for a while…"

Lord Death sighed. "I know. I've been busy…"

Kid could tell this was an excuse. His father had been avoiding him on purpose.

Maka nodded. "Do all Death Gods have this kind of obsession?"

Lord Death shook his head. "Nope," he said, with a little laugh. "Just Kiddo."

"Oh," Maka said. There was a brief pause, before she asked, "So if he had a brother, or something, Kid would still be the only one with OCD?"

This conversation was just an innocuous attempt to fill silence, but Kid picked up the true meaning.

Maka was wondering if all Death Gods had such obsessions; to ask if Kid would ever grow out of it.

His father's response proved that…

That his father was as disappointed in him as the others were.

It was Lord Death's next answer sealed the problems coming.

"I guess so. But it couldn't happen. Only two Death Gods can be alive at once, the current one, and his heir."

Everything about this resonated in his head.

It was like pieces of a puzzle, floating around, refusing to connect.

Until suddenly, they connected with a force that caused him to jerk his head up.

_Only two Death Gods can be alive at once… _That was it.

Kid _was_ some form of abomination, but not all Death Gods were; just him.

Kid had known this, but the next part made perfect, clear sense.

He had always assumed that the fate of the world was sealed. That the world was doomed to suffer under his reign, that there was no hope.

But he was wrong; because if there was a different heir, not Kid, then there was a future to look forward to.

That was what his father was saying.

And the only way that there could be a new reaper heir was if-

Was if-

Was if the current one was dead.

The realization of this caused him to feel lightheaded, dizzy.

His father wanted a new heir.

His father wanted him… dead.

The darkness of his father's cloak seemed to grow, enveloping his vision in darkness, as he felt more lightheaded.

The world grew dim…

Kid didn't even feel himself hit the ground.

.

Liz watched as Kid slumped to the ground.

"Great," she muttered worriedly to herself, running to catch him, as he fell.

Lord Death inwardly felt panicked, but tried to keep calm.

"Oh dear," he said, shaking his head. He thought fast. Kid had done this before, fainted, for a number of assorted reasons, usually involving symmetry. Lord Death wished that that was all this was, but inwardly he knew that there was some other reason for his son's condition. "Why don't you two," he said, addressing Black Star and Tsubaki "go find Stein."

"Right!" The two bolted off toward his lab.

Lord Death frowned. "Hey, wait! He's not…" He sighed. Stein was currently at the school, leading a few extra lessons for some students, but the two were too far off to hear him.

"Well. I guess I'll just have to go get Stein myself."

Maka glanced around. "We're near our place, we can go get some water to wake him up," she suggested.

Lord Death nodded, absentmindedly. "That'll be good."

The two quickly left.

Lord Death sighed. "Well, I'm gonna go get Stein. You two," he said, to Patti and Liz "stay here. Keep an eye on Kid."

It was dangerous enough as it was, but with him unconscious, he had no defense.

Patti watched as Lord Death quickly left.

She frowned at Kid. Even she could tell that this wasn't like normal.

Liz nodded, and began pacing.

She felt exhausted, drained. Every minute she had spent worrying.

The street was completely deserted.

Liz wandered to the other side, where a clothing store, Liz was worried about Kid but hoped that this would take her mind off of it. Her seeing a top limited edition design partially did.

She glanced back at Patti and Kid. "Hey, Patti. Keep an eye out, 'kay?"

She quickly darted in, where she learned that the store had a limited copy of early releases.

_They'll be fine, _she thought to herself, quickly searching the store for her size.

Meanwhile, Patti was busy staring vacantly at the shops. She had never felt so low, so unhappy.

She **didn't like **feeling unhappy, it made her want to break something.

She stared around a bit more until she saw a toy store, down the road.

They were having a sale on plus sized stuffed animals.

On the advertisement was a **big giraffe.**

Patti stared at it, as it called her name. She giggled and ran to the store, hypnotized by the long unbroken neck.

"Giraffe!" She demanded, entering the store. "I want the giraffe!"

.

Kid's eyes flickered open.

He sat up shakily, surveying the road around him.

The abandoned road around him…

Had they all gone?

_Of course they had, _he thought angrily to himself.

_They want you dead, after all._

They did, didn't they…? They wanted him dead.

He stared around desperately at the empty road, begging one of his friends to come out and tell him it wasn't true, tell him that they cared…

Of course, no one came.

He stood up, running home, his eyes welling with tears.

He bolted through the house, emotions pent up inside him, feeling absolutely sick.

He ran through, past the paint, and into the clear hallway.

He turned to the right, making a quick series of symmetrical symbols on the wall.

A door appeared.

Shakily, he opened it, entering the room, slamming the door behind him.

He sunk to his knees, tear streaming down his face.

His father never _had_ truly loved him, cared for him. All Kid ever was was his heir, something to be trained to take his place.

But Kid was worthless as an heir, worthless as reaper.

He would only bring plague on the world.

"Only bring plague," he whispered to himself.

His life would bring plague on the world.

His death would bring hope.

Kid realized what this meant.

Kid had nothing to live for. Everyone wanted him dead, even his father. What's more, the world would suffer; people would die, if he lived.

So what was the purpose in living?

Kid lifted his head, shakily.

Closing his eyes, he summoned what appeared to be blades. They were made of similar magic that composed his black spikes, and beezlebub.

He crossed his arms, touching the blades to his wrists.

_They must be perfectly… symmetrical._

Kid sunk to the ground, as blood began to trickle down his arms.

He briefly wondered what his father would do with his soul.

He briefly wondered what happened to reaper's souls.

He briefly wondered if his friends would exonerate him, for doing this.

He wondered this all briefly, before sinking into blackness.

.

**More thanks to my amazing Beta, Seqka711.**

**Also, for those of you who are worrying, don't worry. Kid is not dead.**

**Please drop a review, tell me if I did this well, or if it was terrible. :)**


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